Level of knowledge of primary mainstream and special needs educators in supporting inclusive transitions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37134/bitara.vol13.2.1.2020Keywords:
Inclusion, Transitional Support, Roles, Responsibilities, Mainstream Educators, Special Needs EducatorsAbstract
This study examines the level of knowledge of mainstream educators and special needs educators towards supporting inclusive transitions into Malaysian primary schools. The study identifies three stages important towards inclusive transitions, namely Pre-Transition Stage, During Transition Stage, and Post-Transition Stage. The study was conducted on both mainstream and special needs educators in primary schools (n = 608) across West and East Malaysia and a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was constructed as well as disseminated to the educators. Findings were aggregated, scored, grouped and analysed in percentages according to low, moderate and high levels of knowledge. The results of the analysis demonstrated that there is a general lack of knowledge in both mainstream and special needs educators, and this is indicatory that both groups of educators are clearly not proficient, skilled or experienced enough to support transitions into mainstream classrooms. In addition, the analysis demonstrated, in all three levels of transition, that the special needs educators were marginally more knowledgeable in their roles and responsibilities in supporting students with special needs than the mainstream educators, as the special needs educators demonstrated moderate levels of knowledge respectively in the Post-transition stage (47.85), During transition stage (56.44) and Post-transition stage (74.23) while mainstream educators reportedly considered themselves as having low levels of knowledge throughout the entire inclusive transition in all 3 stages (55.32, 70.21, 50.35). The findings provide us with evidence needed to support previous claims by professionals for the need of more trained professionals, and shed some light on possible relations between the limited readiness of the Malaysian education system in resources towards embracing inclusion, and how the lack of training coupled with underwhelming sense of proficient knowledge may possibly correlate to the attitudes of the educators in inclusion.
Downloads
References
doi: 10.5539/ies.v7n13p192
Amin, J. N. (2016). Redefining the role of teachers in the digital era. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 3(3), 40-45.
Aron, L., & Loprest, P. (2012). Disability and the education system. Future Child,22(1), 97-122.
Bailey, L., Nomanbhoy, A., & Tubpun, T. (2015). Inclusive education: Teacher perspectives from Malaysia. International Journal of Inclusive Education,19 (5), 547-559.
doi: 10.1080/13603116.2014.957739
Borrill, C., Carletta, J., Carter, A., Dawson, J., Garrod, S., Rees, A., Richards, A.,Shapiro, D., & West, M. (2001). Team working and effectiveness in health care: Findings from the health care team effectiveness project. Retrieved from
http://docplayer.net/6696304-The-research-was-carried-out-by-carol-borrill-michael-west-jeremy-dawson-aston-business-school-aston-university.html
Chua, S. H., Saili, J. & Sabil, S. (2018). The relationship between role conflict and burnout among secondary school counselors in Sarawak. Global Business & Management Research, 1(20), 10-21.
Dukes, C., Darling, S. M. & Gallagher, P. A. (2016). Preparing teachers for a global society: What special education teacher educators need to know? Teacher Education and Special Education, 39(3), 161 – 164.
doi:10.1177/0888406416640861
Holmstrom, M. R., Olofsson, N., Asplund, K., & Kristiansen, L. (2014). Transition in the Swedish school system and the impact on student’s positive self-reported health. BMC Public Health, 14, 1045.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-1045.
Khairul Farhah Khairuddin, Dally, K., & Foggett, J. (2016). Collaboration between general and special education teachers in Malaysia. 8th Inclusive and Supportive Education IV Congresso Internacional da Pró-Inclusão, Lisbon, Portugal, 16(1), 909-913
Konza, D. (2008). Inclusion of students with disabilities in new times: Responding to the challenge. In Kell, P, Vialle, W, Konza, D and Vogl, G (Eds.). Learning and the learner: Exploring learning for new times. University of Wollongong.
Lee, L. W., & Low, H. M. (2014). The evolution of special education in Malaysia. British Journal of Special Education, 41(1), 43-58.
doi: 10.1111/1467-8578.12048
Lignugaris. Kraft, B., Sindelar, P. T., McCray, E. D., & Kimerling, J. (2014). The “wicked question” of teacher education effects and what to do about it. In P. T. Sindelar, E. D. McCray, B. Lignugaris/Kraft, & M. T. Brownell (Eds.), Handbook of research on special education teacher preparation (pp. 461-471).New York: Routledge.
Loh, S. C., & Sharifah Zainiyah Syed Yahya (2013). Effective transitional plan from secondary education to employment for individuals with learning disabilities: A case study. Journal of Education and Learning, 2(1), 104-117.
doi: 10.5539/jel.v2n1p104
Lee, L. W., & Low, H. M. (2014). The evolution of special education in Malaysia. British Journal of Special Education, 41(1), 43-58.
doi: 10.1111/1467-8578.12048
Maciver, D., Hunter, C., Adamson, A., Grayson, Z., Forsyth, K. & McLeod, I. (2018). Supporting successful inclusive practices for leaders with disabilities in high schools: A multisite, mixed method collective case study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 40(14). Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2017.1306586
Manisah Mohd. Ali, Ramlee Mustapha & Zalizan Mohd. Jelas. (2006). An empirical study on teachers’ perceptions towards inclusive education in Malaysia. International Journal of Special Education, 21(3), 36-44.
Melissa Ng Lee Yen Abdullah, See, C. M., Tan, K. E., Rosly Othman & Ahmad Fairuz Omar (2012). School-to-work transition services for students with disabilities in Malaysia: Organisations’ views on policy and practices. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 13(4), 259-271.
doi: 10.1111/j.1471-3802.2011.01216.x
Ministry of Education (MOE) (2013). Garis panduan program pendidikan inklusif murid berkeperluan khas. Putrajaya: Special Education Department.
Ministry of Education (MOE) (2015). Buku Panduan Pengoperasian Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi. Putrajaya: Special Education Department. Ministry of Education (MOE) (2018). Education system. Retrieved from
https://www.moe.gov.my/index.php/en/arkib/sistem-pendidikan
Ministry of Education (MOE) (2020). Data Pendidikan Khas Berakhir 31 Januari 2020. Retrieved from
https://www.moe.gov.my/muat-turun/pendidikankhas/buku-data-pendidikan-khas/3385-buku-data-pendidikan-khas-31-januari-2020/file
Mohd Kamel Idris. (2011). Over time effects of role stress on psychological strain among Malaysian public university academics. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(9), 154-161. Retrieved from:
http://crawl.prod.proquest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/fpcache/700c161f2130d576a530fd6007a11c18.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF7V7KNV2KKY2NUQ&Expires=1467185679&Signature=SlYXMgEnG1tUwaAywl3o6euiHL0%3D
Mohd Zuri Ghani, Aznan Che Ahmad & Suzana Ibrahim. (2014). Stress among special education teachers in Malaysia. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, 114, 4-13.
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.648
Muhamad Nadhir Abdul Nasir & Alfa Nur Aini Erman Efendi. (2016). Special education for children with disabilities in Malaysia: Progress and obstacles. Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 12(10), 78-87.
Nurmazlina Mohd. Isa, Hardev Kaur & Rozalli Hashim (2018). Job stress, work-to-family conflict and social support in the education industry. Journal of Administrative Science, 15(3). Scottish Executive (2003). Educating for excellence: Choice and opportunity. Retrieved from
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/ndser.pdf
Strogilos, V., & Stefanidis, A. (2015). Union gives strength: Mainstream and special education teachers’ responsibilities in inclusive co-taught classrooms. Educational Studies, 4, 393-413.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2015.1018872
Sukumaran, S., Loveridge, J., & Green, V. A. (2014). Inclusion in Malaysian integrated preschools. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 19(8), 821-844.
doi: 10.1080/13603116.2014.981229
Tengku Sarina Aini Tengku Kasim. (2014). Teaching paradigms: An analysis of traditional and student-centred approaches. Journal of Usuluddin, 40, 199-218.
Thavanah, B., Harun-or-Rashid, M., Kasuya, H. & Sakamoto, J. (2013). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HIV/AIDS among male high school students in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Journal of International AIDS Society, 16.
doi: 10.7448/IAS.16.1.17387.
Toran, H., Westover, J. M., Sazlina Kamaralzaman, Suziyani Mohamed & Mohd Hanafi Mohd Yasin. (2016). The preparation, knowledge and self-reported competency of special education teachers regarding students with autism. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 24(1), 185-196.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2014). Inclusive education: Malaysia. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/malaysia/InclusiveEducationMalaysia_-_v4_27_May_2014.pdf
Zalizan Mohd. Jelas. (2010). Learner diversity and inclusive education: A new paradigm for teacher education in Malaysia. Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences, 7, 201-204.
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.10.028
Zalizan Mohd. Jelas & Manisah Mohd. Ali. (2014). Inclusive education in Malaysia: Policy and Practie. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(10), 991-1003.
doi: 10.1080/13603116.2012.693398
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Upsi Press
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
